Coming to Terms
by constar494
Summary: Alec is up to his usual doings and as always, Max is mad. Only thing is Alec doesn't buy her 'I'm too good for this routine' anymore. M/A
1. Chapter One

Title: Coming to Terms

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Someday maybe I will, but as of now, nada.

A/N: Who here actually knows how to break into a vault? If there is a better way let me know. Not that I would use that knowledge for my own personal advantage. Haha. I know that's not really funny. No one actually reads these though, right?

'Exactly how many times had Max told him to ask for her help before he got himself into situations like this?' This is what he though as he hung fifty feet above the laser protected floor of a bank vault. 'He could have asked for her help with the heist, but what would be the fun in that? Then he would have to split the money and of course he would've had to ask her. Not that this would've mattered anyways.' Alec knew that Max only preached good ethics to save face in front of Logan. 

Why was he thinking about this now. Right now he had more important matters to attend to. Namely the fact that his life was literally hanging by a thread. A very thin and unsteady thread when you added in the fact that it was supporting all of the 178 pounds that had not too long ago descended it. What to do now he asked himself. He could take his chances and climb back up the rope, leaving the heist for another night. Who was he kidding. He decided then and there that he would complete what he had set out to do: steal a lot of money. Money he wouldn't have to share with Max. Hell he wouldn't even tell Max. He knew what would happen if he did. He'd get lectured. And while Max was a hell of a lot more attractive than the drill sergeants back at Manticore, he still didn't like people telling him what to do. 

Letting one hand drop from the iron clad grip he held on the rope, Alec reached around his belt and unclipped a pocket mirror that he had attached to a metal dowel. He lowered the mirror a couple feet, effectively blocking the laser. After fastening the dowel to the wall, Alec began to lower himself the final feet to his prize. 'And what a well deserved prize at that' he thought to himself. 

Using his feline reflexes, he landed gracefully on the vault floor, knees crouched underneath to shield himself from any unwanted resistance. Any light in the vault had been lost when he had covered the lasers, but that didn't bother Alec. His night vision kicked in automatically as he set to work on the safe. Pressing his ear against the steel enforced door, he listened to the tumblers inside the safe as he worked the combination. A couple seconds later and 'voila' he thought to himself, as the safe door slid open. 

Alec quickly set to work in relieving the richer half of Seattle of some of their clearly unwanted possessions. 'People didn't put things they liked or needed in a dark and desolate bank vault. Maybe that's what he could tell Max, as she would inevitably find out what he had done.' Why did she care so much anyways he wondered. It's not like a year and a half ago she hadn't been doing the exact same things. Hell she had had ten years in the world to have her fun, and here she was demanding him to be right and proper after a few measly months on the outside. Well damned if I'm gonna let her spoil my fun.' And with that he stuffed whatever else he could fit into his backpack, jumped to grab a hold of his rope and quickly began to climb to safety. Making sure to grab the mirror on the way out, he was sure he would be free and clear, from the nice people at Seattle Savings and Loan at least. A very pissed off and sometimes very hot transgenic female, on the other hand, he had yet to deal with.

A/N: Alright people. Please leave me some reviews as this is my first venture into the Fan Fiction Universe. Let me know what you think, and if you like it, I'll get you some more. If you don't like it, I'll still get you some more because I have that much spare time on my hands. Nonetheless, give me some lovin'.


	2. Chapter Two

Title: Coming to Terms

br

A/N: You guys ever seen that movie 'Black Sheep'. Man that's good stuff.

br

br

Unfortunately, he had been right on all accounts. Max had found out, Max was pissed off, and no matter how hard he tried to deny it, she was incredibly hot. That's what he thought as he sat in the back room of Crash as Max lectured him on the differences between stealing from a bad guy and stealing from people who had probably never done anything wrong. 'How the hell had she found out anyways' he wondered. There had been nothing on the news about it, presumably because the bank didn't want the world to know that their impenetrable bank vault had been penetrated. 

br

"Are you even listening to me?"

br

"Of course!"

br

"Oh yeah, then what did I say?"

br

"I believe it was something along the lines of 'Alec bad…blah blah blah…don't steal it's bad…blah blah blah…You know I get it Max. You don't appreciate what I do. Well guess what? Just because you don't steal anymore doesn't mean I have to stop making a living as well. "

br

"I don't steal anymore because it's wrong, and in case you hadn't realized, wrong is bad!"

br

"That's not what you thought a year ago. You even admitted to me that you used to steal. So why all of a sudden did you decide that being who you are, being what you had been born to be, was wrong.?"

br

"I grew a conscience. That's what happened."

br 

"Oh that hurts Maxie. Really."

br

"I doubt it."

br

Sensing that she had calmed down, at least for the time being, Alec decided to probe the question a little. At least until she freaked out again. "So why did you stop Maxie?"

br

"I told you I--"

br

"And don't give me that conscience crap. That's bullshit and you know it. What made you give up that rush. I know you must have liked it. We're bred to feed off of adrenaline. What you do now can hardly give you what you need. So what was it, huh?"

br

"I had better things to do."

br

"Better things say for Eyes Only?"

br

"So what? What I decide to do with my personal time is my business and not yours."

br

"But my personal time is open to your ever forthcoming criticisms, right?"

br

"Shut up."

br

"My point exactly."

br

"I just don't see why you always have to get into trouble. It's like you're not happy unless you have a SWAT Team crashing in your front door. Do you do things like this just to piss me off?"

br

"Would you believe me if I said no?" Truth was sometimes he wondered if she was right. He did enjoy seeing her mad. Part of him wondered if it was because he wanted her to be more comfortable with the kick-ass , hot tempered killing machine he knew she could be. He assumed that ever since she had met Logan, she had begun to try to be just a little too human. Then again the other part of him knew that he just liked to piss her off. Hey, at least she was talking to him. 

br

"Of course I wouldn't believe you. That would go against everything I stood for."

br

"Ouch. Now come on Maxie. How about next time I go out on a job, you tag along." The look on her face was priceless. "for old times sake."

br

"Alec, we don't have old times."

br

"Then what a better time to start something new."

br

And with that he left her standing there, undoubtedly trying to figure out what his next move would be. Truth be told he didn't even know. He'd need sometime to think about this one.

br

A/N: Better…worse…should I be shot? Let me know and I'll let you know…or something….HA!


	3. Chapter Three

Title: Coming to Terms

Disclaimer: Still nothing is mine. I did watch my brother buy a car the other day. Though. That's something.

A/N: I am a writing machine!

Alec's POV:

Of course she hadn't come. Why would she. Why he had even thought she would was beyond him. A week after their heated conversation at Crash, a new exhibit of pre Pulse art had made it's way into Seattle. When his fence had told him about the job, he knew this would be the perfect opportunity to drag Max along. A pretty simple job. 'After all if Josh could break into an art museum, I think Max and I could handle it.' 

None of that had mattered though because the night before he had strolled into Max and Cindy's apartment, as he so often did, to find Max lying on her bed reading. 

"Hey Maxie."

"That's funny, I didn't hear any knocking."

"That's funny…I'm sure I did." Yeah right.

"So what do you want?"

"As if you don't know. Actually it's about my little invite last week. I'm coming to make good. My fence got word of this job at the art museum in Sec--"

Before he could even finish Max cut him off. "Forget about it Alec. I'm not helping you out. And if you do get caught, like you undoubtedly will, I'm not going to bail your ass out of jail either."

"C'mon Max. Tomorrow's a Saturday night. The place will be virtually deserted, minus a few lack luster rent-a-cops. I think we can handle it without too much of a commotion."

"Better idea, you can handle it without too much of a commotion. I will have nothing to do with it. End of story."

"Fine, but when I'm rollin' in the dough, you can't have any."

"The only thing you're gonna be rollin' in is whatever bugs have made a home on the cell block floor."

He gave a stifled laugh as he left Max to her book.

On his own yet again. He could've gotten somebody else. But he didn't want to pull jobs with anybody else. Max would be the only person he'd trust with his life. Hell she was the only person he trusted period. He certainly didn't trust Logan. That man spent the better half of his life trying to convince Max she was something that she wasn't. He doubted he loved Max for who she really was. 

"I do."

He did not just say that. Wait a second. Let's take a little trip in the way back machine. 'Logan doesn't love the real Max. I do.' Yup that had definitely been his train of thought. 'Oh dear God.' Here he was about to break through the skylight of this museum, and he was thinking about loving Max? Maybe Psy-Ops had missed something. Maybe he was nuts. Or at least suicidal. Because that's what having feelings towards the Ice Queen did to men. In his short time on the outside he had found that much to be true. 

Enough of this. He had to get this job over with. He pulled out the piece of glass he had been working on. If he had timed everything right, the guards would be in the other wing right now, leaving exhibit open for the taking. He tossed the rope over the edge and began to descend it ever so carefully. 

'Standard operating procedure.' he thought to himself as he took in the darkened room and the roped off exhibits. Nothing he couldn't handle. As he dropped to the floor his sensitive ears picked up movement behind the door to his right. Before he could do anything the lights had been switched on and he froze, unsure of what his next move should be.

'Please let it be Max' he thought. She would do this. She would scare him shitless just to teach him a lesson. He wasn't nearly that lucky though. This was worse than Max. This was worse than rent-a-cops. This was bad.

"Hello 494."

'Yup. This was definitely worse than Max.'

A/n: Dun dun dun!!!!!!! I am so evil!!!!! Hahaha…


	4. Chapter Four

Title: Coming to Terms

br

Disclaimer: It's not mine. Nothing is.

br

A/N: Yay for writing.

br

Max's POV:

br

It had taken her about two and a half minutes to formulate her plan. There was no way in hell she would actually agree to do something Alec would want to do. That, however, didn't mean she couldn't go by herself, on her own accord. That was in fact the only reason she had known Alec had pulled the bank job. She had followed him. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she did miss the fun Alec so clearly had. She didn't really know why she had stopped. Maybe it was Logan. She quickly justified everything by telling herself she was running damage control. If she couldn't verbally stop Alec from being himself, she could at least help him out when he got caught. 

br

The next night she followed Alec to the museum, carefully remaining unnoticed. If he caught her, he would win. There was no way in hell he was going to win anything from her. She watched as he scaled the side of the building with ease. 'He looked so graceful' she thought. Doing what he had been built to do. She didn't have time to dwell on this though. She ran the length of the field in front of the museum and using the same path Alec had, ascended the building in a timely fashion. 

br

Stopping just as she reached the top, she looked over the ledge to make sure Alec wasn't looking back. Noticing he was preoccupied with cutting into the skylight, she ran over to the nearest ventilation tower and crouched behind it. 'What was taking him so long' she wondered. He seemed lost in thought almost, like he wasn't even paying attention to what he was doing. 

br

That's when she heard it.

br

"I do."

br

'He does what?' what the hell was he talking about. The more time he wasted sitting there talking to himself the more likely he was to get caught. This was getting stupid. Resisting the urge to walk over there and smack him on the head, she peeked out again from around the tower. He was gone. He had made the final dissension into the museum. She rushed over to the skylight to make sure he got what he came for without setting any alarms off and that's when it happened. All of a sudden the lights were flicked on, and she saw Alec freeze.

br

'Crap' She knew this would happen. This is why she had come. As she was about to lower herself in through the broken skylight when she heard one of those voices she had nightmares about.

br

"Hello 494."

br

This was so not good. There was no way she could take all of them, even with Alec's help. Her best bet was to wait until they came out in the open. She would be more of a help to Alec if she waited for them outside. She just prayed he wouldn't get himself shot before that.

br

A/N: You know the deal. You write I write. Bada-bing Bada-boom.


	5. Chapter Five

Title: Coming to Terms

br

Disclaimer: It all belongs to someone else.

br

Well this sucked. Yup. And Max though he was going to end up in jail. 'I wish'. He wasn't going anywhere near as good as jail. Immediately scanning the room for any possible exit he noted that White's men had all the doors covered. That left the rope. Not exactly a viable option, however. In the time it would take him to climb back up, he could be shot any number of times. This wasn't looking good. His only option was to fight his way out. It looked like he was going to have to kick some undercover government goonie ass. 

br

"So 494 tell me…are you really this stupid?"

br

'Are you really this annoying' Alec chided to himself. This wasn't the time for smart ass comments. Not yet anyways.

br

"Didn't you think it was just a little coincidental that two normally high security operations would've been so easy to break into? That maybe it was just a little odd that there was no mention of the bank robbery on the news? "

br

'That sniveling little bastard.' "I just assumed I was that good." 'Smooth.'

br

"Maybe so, but you're not going to be good enough to get out of here. You might as well make it easier for everyone involved."

br

"Not likely."

br

"Have it your way then." And with that about eight men with what looked to be tazers and tranquilizers, began to approach Alec. 

br

"Standard operating procedure" he muttered to himself, as he took a defensive stance against his attackers. He threw the first punch, not willing to take his chance with those pesky guns they had pointed at him. He connected with a solid right to someone's face and sensing someone coming from behind, kicked out with his left foot. He looked back to find not only one man on the ground, but another two approaching. Flipping up and over the two, he took them from behind, crushing their skulls together, in what he could only assume would be somewhat incapacitating. It was getting useless though. The first two he had taken down were now getting back up to their feet, albeit painfully so. 

br

They were beginning to advance towards him-effectively pinning him against the wall. Making one last try for the exit, he leaped into the air hoping to grab onto the rope and swing himself towards the door that was far across the room and right now, unguarded. Just as he left the ground he felt the tazers hit him and he dropped to the floor. Without one last conscious effort he rolled onto his back. The last thing he saw was White's sneering face looking down at him.

br

"Put the animal in his cage."

br

A/N: Short I know, but what can I say. Review!


	6. Chapter Six

Title: Coming to Terms

br

Disclaimer: I bought a new book today.

br

This was all my her fault. If she had just a greed to go with him, they would've been able to fight their way out. She knew there was no way Alec would be able to tackle White and a bunch of his goonies by himself though. So here she stood, the last line of defense between Alec and god only knows what. There was no way she was going to let them take him back. Or worse. As much as she hated to admit it, Alec meant to much to her. 'Of course he means to much to you. He's the world's best punching bag.' Oh god if only that were it. As much as she hated to admit it, Alec was growing on her. 'Yeah growing like a fungus on a rock.' Unfortunately there were virtually thousands of reasons why she would never be able to admit it to him. He was right. She wasn't the same person she was before Manticore burnt down. 'God. He hadn't even known me then, and yet he can read me like an open book. Creepy.' Maybe that should of told her something though.

br

'What is taking them so long.' She knew what it was though. There was no way Alec would go down without a fight. He was pure Manticore. She must have been hiding in this tree for at least two minutes. Far too long in her book. She was directly above what she could only assume was the van they would try to load Alec in. 'They'll never know what hit them' she thought to herself. Too bad. It'd be great if Alec was conscious when this all went down, but she doubted he'd be coming out of there walking. As if right on cue, the doors to the museum flung open and she could hear White barking orders to his lackies.

br

"Put it in the van. We don't stop until we reach the loading zone. I want everyman in the back with him. He doesn't get unshackled for anything. Keep him sedated."

br

'That answered one question. Alec's out like a light. But alive.'

br

While two of White's mean opened the back doors to the van, two others hauled Alec over to it. One was walking behind them, armed with what she assumed would be a tranquilizer gun. Tow of the others had already gotten in the cab of the van, and one had presumably left with White. She jumped out of the tree, landing on the two at the van doors,. She quickly reassembled herself and while the other two tried to get Alec in the van for a quick getaway, she disabled the armed guard with a roundhouse kick to the stomach. This left the two in the van and the two guarding Alec. Grabbing the two in the van from behind, she threw them out of the van and shut the door on her and Alec. Just as she was turning around she noticed the two up front aim at her from inside the cab. She blurred towards them and heard a loud klunk as their heads came in contact with the dashboard. Fitting through the small window, she discarded the bodies out the doors and turned on the ignition. Shed have to come back for her baby later. But it was safe. Looking into the rear view mirror she could see Alec's unconscious form rolling around in the back. 

br

"Idiot deserves a couple of bruises after what he put me through tonight," she chided quietly to herself.

br

It wasn't that far to her place, but she couldn't very well keep the van. White would undoubtedly be tracking it somehow. Still two sectors from her place, she pulled over in front of an apartment complex. While leaving Alec in the van she looked around for an easy steal. There was an unlocked blue SUV a couple of cars back. She reached under the hood and after connecting a couple of wires, the engine roared into life. She ran back to the van , and opened the back doors. He was still there, not moving, but completely shackled. There still appeared to be no one around so she simply pulled him out and dragged him to the SUV. Lying him in the back seat, Max shut the door and jumped behind the wheel. She could ditch this later once she got Alec back to her place and out of harms way. As long as he was in his drug induced state of dreams, he was no help to himself. 

br

"You owe me. Big time." 

br

And with that she sped off into the night.

br

A/N: I hope that was a little longer. Review for me!


	7. Chapter Seven

Title: Coming to Terms

Disclaimer: You don't want what I got.

A/N: Appreciating all the reviews. Keep them coming! Some bad news though. I have band camp (that's right laugh it up…) until next Saturday. So until then…this will be the last post. But I will right more I promise! Don't stop reviewing! I will be back on the 31st!

He hated being woken up rudely. It's why he never spent the night with any of the women he went home with. They always wanted something. All he wanted was sex, then to go home and sleep. Nothing more and certainly nothing less. If he couldn't wake up with the woman he truly cared for, then he would rather wake up alone. None of this mattered right now though. He would probably never have anymore sex. White would probably kill him and harvest his organs for god knows what. He would miss two things about his life outside of Manticore: sex and Max. If only he had had the time to combine the two. That would've been great. 

Not even bothering to open his eyes and making the smallest movements possible, Alec quickly discovered he was still shackled. He was definitely moving. Probably en route to his final resting place, so to speak. He doubted he'd be doing anything but resting. So many things he should've done and said. In his short time on the outside he had made some friends, gotten a job, a dump to live in. 'Living the American Dream my man. Yeah right. Maybe if the American Dream consisted of running from a secret government agency and a breeding cult bent on destroying all evidence that you and others like you ever existed. Not to mention watching the only person you could let yourself love and trust pine away after another man. Another man not worthy of who she really was, who wouldn't even let her be herself.' Why did his thoughts always come back to Max. It was such a waste. She didn't even like him. Probably just let him stick around so she would have someone to beat up on. This was just great. Even on the verge of death she was still tormenting him. At least she hadn't gone with him. If she had gone with him they both would've gotten caught. Now she could spend the rest of her life knowing that she was right. That he had gotten caught doing something stupid, and that she had told him that would happen. 'I hate it when she's right.'

All of a sudden he was jolted out of his thoughts when the vehicle came to an abrupt halt. Well, maybe he could give one last fight. Maybe they'd unshackle him, let him die trying. Probably not but hey, it doesn't hurt to have hope. With that he gave a noncommittal grunt. 

"Are you awake back there???"

That sounded an awful lot like Max. Maybe they had gotten her two somehow. Maybe he should open his eyes. Yeah, that's a good way to start.

"Max?"

"Alec?"

"How did they get you? Do they know where you live? Is Cindy okay?"

"Woah calm down. No one caught me. I saved your ass from White."

"What do you mean you saved my ass? You were there?"

"Look I'll explain everything once we get you inside, okay?"

"Yeah…sure…"

Helping him out of the car, Max slipped one arm around Alec's waist to help support his weight. "Once I get you upstairs I'll pick the locks." With that she opened the makeshift door to their apartment building and the two slowly began to climb the stairs to the apartment. Once inside Max set Alec down on her bed. Hoping not to wake Cindy, she got everything she would need from the living room and shut the door to her room. 

"You could've gone to my place. I wouldn't want to be waking O.C. up at this hour." Max was just looking at him. "So, uh, I appreciate you helping me and all Maxie, but why where you there? I thought I was on my own?"

Not taking her eyes off of the locks as she worked her pick set Max replied, "Well the more I thought about it the more I realized that if you got caught, I would probably be next. White would've probably gotten me out of you. There" With that she snapped the last restraint open. Alec began to rub his bare wrists. He was sure there would be bruises in the morning, but that didn't really matter right now. Changing the subject quickly Max added, "How did White know you would be there anyways? I mean, does he know where you live? Has he been tailing you?"

"Why, you want me to bunk up here for awhile maybe?" he said giving his characteristic smirk. Seeing that his humor was even less appreciated now then it usually was, he continued. "I don't think so. He said that he had been setting up these jobs. He was banking on the fact that only a transgenic would try to pull them off. Guess he was right. I don't even think he knew it was me."

"Well, I guess this means you'll have to stay out of trouble for awhile."

"Maybe. Probably not. I feed off of that rush. Not that I didn't appreciate the help, but I would've gotten out eventually."

"Uh-huh."

"You underestimate me Maxie. You couldn't even begin to comprehend what I'm capable of." 'Just setting the bait out…c'mon Maxie.'

"What you're capable of is getting into a lot of trouble that you can't get yourself out of. End of story. Plain and simple."

"You're jealous." 'Here we go.'

"Jealous??? I am not jealous of almost getting killed. I am not jealous of having to repel fifty feet into a museum to get a stupid painting!! And I am in no way jealous of you and you're stupid adrenaline rushes!"

"So you're telling me that the only reason you were there was because you wanted to make sure I didn't get killed. It had nothing to do with the fact that you're jealous. Nothing to do with the fact that you lead a boring and otherwise uneventful existence? Nothing to do with the fact that without me you wouldn't be half the person you could be?"

"What did you mean when you said 'I do'?"

"What? Stop trying to change the subject."

"You were up on the roof. It looked like you were thinking about something. Tell me."

He could use this. "Tell you what. I'll tell you what I meant if you do something with me."

"Alec…"

"It doesn't even have to be anything illegal. White kind of sidelined my after hours job. At least for the time being anyways."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'll think of something good. No questions asked though. I'll come to you and say I have an idea and if you want to know what I was thinking about, you'll just come."

"I guess I could always kick your ass when we got wherever you took me."

"That's the spirit. So. You taking the couch tonight?"

A/N: I thought a nice long one would do you some good. Please! Review! See you in little less than a week!


	8. Chapter Eight

Title: Coming to Terms

A/N: Oh right…this story….

Sure he had said he would call her on their little deal, but when had Alec ever been serious with her? So it came as a complete shock to Max when he walked into Jampony weeks afterwards and told her not to make any plans for that night. 

At first she had protested, told him that she didn't really care anymore what he had said that night so long ago. But he had persisted, egged her on until she had once again agreed to whatever scheme he had concocted. 

Max reassured herself she was only doing this to shut him up. As soon as this job was over, maybe he would leave her alone a little, give her some space. Of course, she knew that part of her wanted to be there with him when he did this. She wanted to be able to share in his satisfaction of a job well done. A voice in the back of her mind told her that she wanted Alec to see that she could keep up with him and that she was good enough for him. 

She would never admit this to him though, and she would never tell him that she really just wanted to see him dressed in all black with that mischievous grin plastered across his face as he picked the lock to some door that would undoubtedly stand between them and whatever treasures they were after.

No. This was so he would leave her alone. Nothing else. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this, Alec."

"Well actually Max, if you'll remember correctly, I didn't have to talk you into this. Your need to know everything about what goes on in my life is what got you into this."

"How do you figure that?"

"Max. Look at yourself. You're about to help me break into some poor slob's mansion , and for all you know, I could have been talking about my affinity for blondes."

"Alec you have an affinity for anything with a pulse and nice chest."

"Well this must be your lucky day Max! You got those, right?"

"Shut up, Alec." And with that she smacked him across the back of the head.

He watched her as she made her way across the rooftop, her hips swaying back and forth as she went. The tight, black cat-suit that she wore hugged her every curves, leaving nothing to the imagination. Unfortunately, though, Alec didn't have time to admire the view. Not only should he be setting up the gear for this job, but he needed to figure out what he was going to tell Max when it was done. 

Whatever he was going to say had to be good, or he was pretty sure Max would rip one of his arms from his body. He had more or less forced her into this, and if there was one thing he had learned about Max over these past couple of months, it was that she hated being forced to do anything. 

And this isn't how he had wanted it to happen either. He wanted her to do this of her own volition. He wanted Max to feel good about herself, to be able to smile every once in awhile. Alec knew that no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to be anything but transgenic, but he could help her accept it. But Logan would always be in the way. Max would always strive to be human as long as Eyes Only roamed free. 

"Hey moron! You ready?"

"Yeah, coming." Shit. He was so screwed. 

Slipping into a top story window, the two stealth soldiers walked down the dimly lit hallways towards where the house safe was located. Alec had been scouting this place for a little over a week now. He had mapped all the blueprints, re-routed all the security devices, and even gone the extra mile and found the combination to the safe.

This wasn't going to be an in and out situation though. He had a plan, and boy was it a good one. Just the mere thought of what he had in store put a sparkle in his eye and a grin on his face. Turns out, the very married guy that owned this place was a frequent customer of The Blowfish Tavern, a strip joint Alec had started to visit recently. After a few words with the man, he had managed to secure the mansion for the night. The guy had even promised to leave money in the safe for him to take as long as he kept his mouth shut.

All Alec had to do was send Max ahead for the cash while he 'accidentally' tripped some alarm. She'd come to the rescue and feel great about herself. A few words about how good of a job she had done, maybe a little make-out session, and she'd be his. 

This plan he had devised was brilliant. He was going to humiliate himself for Max. This meant something. If he played his cards right, maybe she would forget all about this whole "baring his soul to her" thing. Either way, the next few minutes should prove to be interesting. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Title: Coming to Terms--Chapter Nine

A/N-I think I'm almost done with this story…or I am done and forgot to change the author's note. We shall see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alec had definitely said five minutes. She clearly remembered him saying the alarms would be deactivated for five minutes! Then why the hell had the alarms gone off precisely two minutes after he had re-routed the system? Who was she kidding, this was all her fault, she had trusted Alec. She had believed him when he had said this would be an in and out job. Well, whatever. This wasn't her score. It's not like she had anything banked on the outcome of whatever happened tonight. After all she had held up her end of the bargain, and after all the running she was having to do now, he owed her an explanation of the other night and then some. 

Now, as she dashed down a flight of stairs to their rendezvous point, Max found herself involuntarily shuddering at the thought of what 'and then some' might actually mean to Alec. Not that he wasn't hot, hell she'd have to be blind to think otherwise, but he was Alec. The always present pain in her ass, thorn in her side, pebble in her--

Gunshots. Two gunshots from the main foyer. The main foyer where Alec should be waiting for her. Crap. This couldn't be good. There was no way this could be good. Alec hadn't brought a gun, she had made sure of that. So there was definitely someone else down there with one. 

As she bounded down the last curve in the staircase, her worst nightmares became a haunting reality. He was on the floor clutching his side as a pool of crimson formed beneath him. Falling to her knees at his side she immediately began to search his body. There was so much matted blood and stained fabric, that she couldn't even tell where he had been hit. 

"Don't worry Alec, everything will be okay. I'll get you out of here, you just have to promise me you'll hang on, okay? Alec"

She could hear the worry that had seeped into her voice. The last thing he needed right now, as she watched his face contort in agony, was to have her freak out because he'd lost way too much blood. There was so much blood. Shit, where the hell was it all coming from!? Rolling him onto his side she lifted up the back of his shirt, pushing it up his body so she could have a better look. About six inches above his waist, her eyes followed the darkest path of liquid to a shredded area of skin. The bullet had definitely gone in. Carefully turning him over onto his back again, she found the matching hole on his front. At least it had gone through.

He wasn't moving as much anymore, and she knew that she needed to get him out of here before he lost anymore blood, or before they got in anymore trouble. As a matter of fact, it was kind of weird that no one else had bothered them. Someone had obviously been here, and that alarm hadn't exactly been quiet, but as long as they didn't bother her, she wasn't going to go looking for them.

Cupping his face in her hands she tried to get him to wake up. She may super human, but he was still bigger than her. She didn't need a genius to tell her that an unconscious Alec plus a motorcycle wasn't exactly the best means of escape. 

"Why does it always seem like I'm having to bail your ass out of these situations. Damnit Alec, I need you to wake up!" She shouted rather than spoke these last words, not in the least caring about if someone came back at this point.

Crouching down protectively over his body, she quickly scanned the room, hoping that there would be something, anything that would help her get him out of this mess. And that's when she heard it. An almost inaudible mumble had escaped past his lips. His head began stirring slightly, and Max snapped to attention.

"Alec, c'mon you big baby. Wake up."

"Max?" Judging from the look on his face, it had taken him way too much energy to even speak her name.

"Yeah, I need your help getting out of here, okay? I can't carry you all the way home."

"He wasn't supposed to shoot me," Alec mumbled almost as if he hadn't even recognized the concern in her voice.

"What are you talking about," she hissed. "This isn't the time for any of your smart-ass remarks Alec. If we both don't get going like now, we're going to end up dead, or captured."

"No you don't get it. Max I was only trying to--"

"Well explain it to me later. Right now you're going to get up and help me walk your ass out. C'mon."

And with that she hoisted him up off the floor, and out of the puddle of his own blood that he had been lying in for far too long. Slipping her smaller frame under his arm that had been hanging so lifelessly by his side, Max slung his bag over her other shoulder and headed out the front door. There was something about this whole night that rubbed her the wrong way. Well, obviously the whole Alec being shot thing, but there was something more. There was no way they should've been able to walk out like that. No, there was definitely something more going on behind the scenes and as usual she had a feeling she knew exactly where to start looking for answers.

With a reluctant sigh, she helped him position himself on her bike before slipping into the seat in front of him. Making sure that he had a secure enough grip around her waist, she revved the engine and peeled off into the darkness of the night. 

She was not looking forward to what would most certainly be coming next.

A/N…you like? I think there's only going to be one more chapter. But then again, I'm a habitual liar. Yay!


	10. Chapter Ten

Title: Coming to Terms-Chapter Ten

A/N: I don't know anymore. Every time I think I'm done with this story, someone says, "Oh I wonder if this will happen…" and then I want to write more. I'm so easily persuaded. Thank you for the excellent reviews. I heart you all.

And now on with the show…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pain. Unbelievable amounts of pain. When he woke up the next morning, Alec laid in bed trying to piece together what had happened, what had gone so terribly wrong last night. All he could remember was Max standing over him, yelling at him for something.

Now let's see. What would he have been doing with Max? Lately he had been trying to get her to pull some jobs with him, but as far as he could remember she had been pretty persistent in shooting him down. Unless she had finally caved. That's right! She had wanted something from him, and had begrudgingly agreed to go with him. He had rigged the job. Hey! He had rigged the job! Then why the hell was he injured. That stupid S.O.B. had double crossed him. No where in their little agreement did he now recall asking to be shot. 

Opening his eyes, before he was even entirely sure of his surroundings, Alec shot up out of his bed. 

"Alec! Watch it will ya!?"

Spinning around on his heel he saw, or rather heard Max. Upon closer inspection he found her sprawled on the floor beside the bed.

"What are you doing on my floor?"

"First of all, this is MY floor. Second of all, I WAS on the bed until about two seconds ago when this jerk decided to jump up out of the bed without even considering there might be someone else on it."

"You slept with me?"

"I slept NEXT to you."

"Close enough." 

"Whatever. Where the hell do you think you're going anyways?" Max asked pulling herself up of the floor.

"Out."

"Hey, wait, here's an idea. Maybe we should make sure your bullet wound has healed up some before you go out_._"

Taking a peak down at his still shirtless upper body, he gave himself a quick once over before turning his gaze back to her. "I'm fine."

"Right, I'm sure you are. Humor me will you?"

"If by humor you, you mean let you use this as a guise to touch me, then by all means go--OW! What the hell was that for!"

A feigned look of innocence plastered across her face, Max shot back. "What was what for?"

"You hit my hole!"

"Hey, you're the one who got shot in the first place. Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask you about something."

"Oh yeah?" 'Oh shit.'

"Yeah, last night when I found you, you mumbled something about how you 'weren't supposed to get shot.' Now, call me crazy, but I don't think anyone ever plans to get shot."

Eyeing his blood-soaked garments with disgust, Alec smiled and turned to face Max. "Max, I was shot. I was probably just rambling on. Most people tend to do so after losing massive quantities of blood. Honestly, I don't remember much about last night." Hoping to change the subject before she could pry any further, he quickly continued, " Hey did we end up making out with any money, or did it get left behind?"

"Rambling on, huh? So then why you were in such a rush this morning?"

"Things to do people to see. Hey do either of you girls have a shirt I could borrow? This ones got blood on it."

"Alec! Quit doing that!"

"Doing what?"

"Changing the subject! I want to know what happened, and I want to know now."

Almost as if he was looking for a quick escape, Max watched as Alec's eyes darted about the room nervously, all the while managing to avoid her wary gaze. He was really nervous, and from what she could tell, it wasn't about what he had done either. The way he was only avoiding looking at her, made it seem like he was nervous about what she would say. Not that she could blame him. All she ever did was over react and chastise when it came to him. 

"Alec, I know I never give you a fair chance, so if you tell me what happened, I won't get angry."

When he heard this, his eyes snapped up from where he had been admiring the floor to her eyes. What he saw there was not the pissed off, ready to jump look he had been expecting. Rather, a softer more sincere expression had found a home in her chocolate depths. Still not finding it in himself to trust her, he carefully approached the spot where she sat on her bed. When he got close enough, he took a seat on the edge near her and sighed. She was being honest. She just wanted to know if he would be alright, and here he was ready to give her some bullshit answer that would undoubtedly make her even angrier. Half the time he didn't know why he lied to her. She probably wouldn't be as mad at him if he was upfront with her, but there was a large part of him that just loved seeing her angry. Cause when she got angry, she got violent, and when she was violent, she was hot. He was all transgenic, and nothing turned him on more than a woman who could kick his ass. 

He smiled as he thought about this now, and Max saw it.

"What's so funny?"

Still looking down at his hands, he replied. "I don't know Maxie. There's just something about this whole situation that is just really funny."

"Alec, I hardly consider you almost dying funny."

His eyes sliding from his hands to her face, he was almost awestruck as her words reached his ears.

"So, you'd miss me?"

"Of course I'd miss you. But that's not the point. Alec, something went really wrong last night, and I want to know what part you played in it. I'm not stupid, I know something went down last night behind my back. Just tell me what it was. I won't get mad."

His eyes were so hopeful when she spoke those last few words.

"You promise?"

A/N…HA! I actually know what I'm going to do for the last chapter too! Tell me if you liked this one!! 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Title: Coming to Terms--Chapter Eleven

A/N: I'm done! Joy! Now, I can work on some of my other unfinished projects! Thank you guys for bearing with me, and reviewing every step of the way!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Of course I promise. Alec, last night, when you were shot, I was scared. More scared than I'll probably ever admit to you. All I could think about in that house was how much I was going to kick your ass for screwing the whole thing up. My gut reaction had been to yell at you, and then worry about the fact that you had been shot later. But then, when I got you back here, and the bleeding hadn't really stopped yet, I just kept yelling at myself. Thinking about how much of a jerk I had been for being angry at you while you had been so close to dying."

Max paused now, hoping that he would interject. When he didn't, and she had grown tired of pushing him to talk, she continued in herself.

"Look, I know this is probably hard to swallow coming from me, but you have to understand that I do care about you. Just because I'm a jerk to you doesn't mean I hate you. If I didn't care about you, I'd probably let you do anything you wanted."

Silence.

Frustrated with how he had refused to respond to anything she had to say, Max jumped from the bed an made her way to the door, pausing momentarily to stand in front of him.

"Fine, you know what Alec? I'll admit, I've been a bitch to you. But, I'm trying to apologize and you're not even acknowledging me. If this is your way of teaching me some kind of lesson, then fine. I get it. But you know what, I don't care. If you want to just go on and pretend that nothing matters, you can. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna pretend along with you. You almost died, and I was scared."

Max knew she was going to cry, and that was the last thing she had wanted him to see. But before she could run from the room, Alec had latched onto her wrist, preventing her from moving. When she turned around to face him, she saw something that she had never seen before. The look on his face was indescribable, it was almost as if the Alec she had previously known had just been a mask. The carefully guarded eyes that always sparkled were gone now, replaced with a look of wariness and regret. This was Alec, he wasn't supposed to regret anything. He was careless, did everything for himself, someone who saw emotions as a weakness.

"What do you want Alec?"

"You said you wouldn't get mad if I told you."

"I won't. But you have to tell me everything Alec."

"I will."

"I'm serious."

"I know. I'll tell you everything, just, take a seat." Turning, to face her on the bed he continued slowly, not pretending to believe her for a single second. "Max, none of this is going to be easy for me to say, I mean, I suck at all this emotional crap."

Max snorted.

"Hey, it's not like your little miss emotionally stable either, okay? Let me finish. To make a long story short, something bad happened because I tried to do something good."

Max stared.

"But you obviously want more of an answer…"

More staring.

"Right, well basically, I wanted you to come on a job or two with me."

"Yeah, I remember that little arrangement. Now, what I gotta know is why? You usually have no problem pulling your little wheelings and dealings all on your lonesome. Now all of a sudden you have to drag me into it?"

"Yeah, but it's more complicated than that. I had this idea that you might be happier if you had a little more excitement in your life, you know? It started out as simple as that. I wanted you to come on a couple of jobs with me. Simple stuff, no one gets hurt, you make a little cash, have a little fun. But as I'm sure you're more than well aware, nothing in my life ever goes as well as planned. I don't know if I just got over zealous or lost sight of my original objective, but everything got so damned messed up and I almost got myself killed. I could've gotten you killed."

"I could've handled myself, Alec."

"Yeah, but that's not the point. You told me that I had to look out for people other than myself, and I didn't. I can't do this Max, I mean I just wanted you to be happy, and then next thing I know I'm blackmailing some guy into letting me rob his place."

"The guy who shot you…"

"Yeah, listen. About that--"

"Alec, I really want to hit you right now."

And with that he had leapt from the bed, preparing to flee, only to find Max's small hand locked around his wrist. 

"You said you wouldn't get mad!"

"I said I wanted to! I didn't, did I?"

"No."

Taking his hands in hers, Max forced Alec to turn and face her. He still wouldn't look her in the eyes though, instead he seemed preoccupied with their entwined hands.

"Alec you did have good intentions. I think. I mean you said you were trying to make me feel better about something, right? That's not being selfish. That's actually kind of sweet."

"Yeah?" He was looking at her now, and there was something in his eyes that had never been there before. Alec was looking for something to believe in, for someone to tell him he had done well. 

"Yeah"

She could be that person.

"But I still gotta ask, why did you think you needed to do something for me? I mean, I do nothing but yell at you, and call you a screw-up, and here you want to help me?"

"I want you to be happy Max. I mean, I don't know what it is, but when you're pissed off, even if it's not at me, I feel like I need to fix it. I can take the yelling and all of that. It's probably why I'm so damn stuck on you." 

'Oh shit.' Mentally he was slapping himself. In reality, he couldn't get his hands free. In fact, he could've sworn she had tightened her hold. 

"You're what?"

  
Standing up from the bed, Alec began to pace nervously back and forth around the small room.

"Alright, you know what, you're going to figure this out eventually, I mean you have to. You're Max. So yeah, I have feelings for you that go beyond 'hey we're both from Manticore.' I sure as hell don't know how to explain them, and I definitely don't expect you to actually reciprocate them, but yeah. I can't seem to get myself to stop liking you like this, and every time I try to do something nice for you it blows up in my face and makes me look--mmmmm…"

It had taken him a moment to realize what was happening. Not in his wildest dreams had Max ever been so painless when he told her all of this. Actually, in his favorite ones, they skipped all the talking and cut straight to the more fun stuff. But here he was, and here she was too for that matter. She had kissed him. Hell she was still kissing him, and it was taking all of his willpower not to shatter this moment, demanding to know if she had hit her head at any point in the last twenty-four hours. 

No, talking could come later. He had done far more than his share for one night. Right now they had far more interesting things to attend to. 

Pushing her back onto the mattress, Alec cradled Max's head as she fell into softness. He honestly had no idea how it had come to this, but he was sure as hell not going to screw it up. Now that she knew everything, he would be able to make sure she was always happy. Now that she knew what he was about, he could make her whole again. 

Life always had a funny way of working things out for him.

A/N 2: It's over! I am mucho happy with the fact that this story is complete. This is a major first for me. Tear.

A/N 3: I apologize for my lack of updating. I might just be the laziest person in the world. I swear I've had more than half of this chapter written for a month now. I need a nanny or something.

A/N 4: Okay, now I'm just being annoying, but thank you guys so much for reviewing this story so much. Once again thank you for all the love and patience!


End file.
